Grave Dust
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: A collection of eight 100 word drabbles. Pairings: Xibalba/La Muerte, Maria/Joaquin, Maria/Manolo, Joaquin/Scardelita Sisters
1. Bending the Rules

He looked surprised to see his wife back in her rightful realm. Normally, La Muerte would've laughed at the shocked look on her ex-husband's face. Now she could only look at him with fury.

"You cheated again!" La Muerte's voice echoed across the palace.

Xibalba opened his mouth, probably to spout off excuses, but La Muerte raised a bony hand to silence him. His eyes widened; Xibalba, a monster created of every terrible thing in the world, looked afraid. For once, his look brought little comfort.

To think, she had actually thought that over the years he had become better.


	2. Empty Titles

He had thought that things would change, that time would heal wounds. Joaquin had hoped that saving San Angel would make Maria really love him. Instead, it merely kept his village safe and wife from leaving for Europe. Besides, he wasn't the true hero, not really - that went to a fiery-eyed Maria.

Sometimes Joaquin wanted to be a child again, when things were simple. Manolo wouldn't be dead and Maria would still love him, at least in her own way. Things would be as they should be.

But his village needed a hero (even if that hero wasn't really him).


	3. Jouez pour Gagner

It was a game that the two played, a way to pass the eternity. Souls went, people forgot and remembered, and the game continued. It hadn't been played forever, but it had been long enough that Xibalba had forgotten what not playing was like.

There were two teams for two players, sugary sweet La Muerte and himself. The Land of the Remembered wasn't the only prize, but the one that he could easily get.

It was an eternal game of cat and mouse, one forever trying to catch the other, though Xibalba had to wonder which role he truly played.


	4. The Last Knock

Maria was no stranger to death; even as a child, she hadn't been shielded from the pain it brought. Pigs died, turned to bacon. Her mother lost the spark in her eyes and the strength in her heart, sickness tearing through her. Not all of her Spanish school friends made it to their graduation.

That only made Manolo's death all the more painful. While everyone else chattered about weddings, she clutched at her chest and tried to hold back the tears.

Maria was no stranger to death, but that didn't mean that she would willingly invite him through her door.


	5. Marionette

Sometimes it was hard to look La Muerte and Xibalba in the eyes, let alone the Candlemaker's. Though Maria knew how lucky that she, a mere mortal, was able to befriend them, she could not help but tense near them, especially when they mentioned the book. A holy relic surely, something that she had never even touched. A fat book it was, with yellowed pages that made her think of times long past.

What did her pages say? Did she even fill a page, or was she an afterthought?

Or was she simply a puppet, pulled by word covered strings?


	6. Lucky

La Muerte was the luckiest woman (not quite) alive, whether she realized it or not. With her fine kingdom, her sugary sweet charm, and fiery spirit, there was nobody quite like her. She was a goddess in her own terms.

Why did she still make bets with him? What did she wish to gain? She was everything that he could only dream of being (or having), and she had slipped through his fingers before he even knew he had her.

Whatever she wanted, he doubted that even letting her win would fulfill her desire.

Not when she already had everything.


	7. Respect

Maria leaned her back against the tree. "What did you call me out here so late for, Joaquin?"

"I came to ask you for help."

Maria stiffened. "What happened?"

"Don't worry," he said. "This concerns my heart."

They both grew silent.

"I'm sorry for how I treated you and the other women in San Angel. I took you all for granted and never considered your feelings. You all deserve respect."

Maria smiled.

"Do you think that Adelita and Scardelita could love me?"

Maria paused before reaching out and patting him gently on the back. "That's for you to find out."


	8. With Love

Manolo held the envelope in his hands, looking down at the crisp paper that had travelled across the sea. It wasn't his first letter from Maria, but each new one always felt more exciting to open than the last.

His hands shook as he opened the letter, carefully making sure not to rip anything.

"Dear Manolo," Maria had written. The writing was quite neat, but next to it was one of her signature doodles.

He paused for a moment, letting the words sink in. This was all contact he had with her now, and he would enjoy all he could.


End file.
